This course builds on the Introductory and Intermediate levels of Persian language. This subject will develop various skills such as the capacity to use some idiomatic and conversational forms and ability to use them freely in speech; proficiency in written structures of moderate to advanced complexity and the capacity to use such structures clearly and accurately; interpreting messages of a medium level of complexity occurring in a variety of audio-visual media and individual and group spoken forms. Students should become conversant in some aspects of advanced Persian syntax and morphology, the historical development of Persian language and literature up to the modern period including some examples of literary writing in the modern period, and translation of texts of moderate difficulty from Persian to English and English to Persian.

At the conclusion of the course, students will have achieved language competency in the following skills:

Reading Proficiency:

(1) Demonstrate sufficient comprehension to understand most factual material in  

      relatively technical prose as well as some discussions on concrete topics related

      to personal and social interests

(2) Demonstrate ability to separate main ideas and details from lesser ones and use

      that distinction to advance understanding

(3) Demonstrate use of linguistic context and real-world knowledge to make 

      sensible guesses about unfamiliar material

(4) Possess an active reading vocabulary demonstrating the ability to identify main

      ideas and to distinguish these from subsidiary ideas

(5) be able to comprehend the influence of long-term cultural background on

     current social and political situations

Speaking Proficiency:

(1) Initiate and maintain predictable face-to-face conversations and satisfy

      unlimited social demands

(2) Use fairly accurate grammatical relations

(3) Exhibit various forms of verb tenses

(4) Demonstrate accurate pronunciation and intonation

Writing Proficiency:

(1) Demonstrate ability to write and translate texts of moderate difficulty from Persian to English and vice versa using a dictionary

(2) Demonstrate control of the most common formats and punctuation conventions

(3) Demonstrate good control of morphology of language and of the most

      frequently used syntactic structures

(4) Writing, particularly in Nastaliq, is legible to native readers

Listening Proficiency:

(1) Comprehend conversations of personal, social topics at upper-intermediate

      level

(2) Demonstrate flexibility in understanding of a range of circumstances beyond

                  immediate survival needs when listening to audio-visual facilities

(3) Understand and distinguish without difficulty various application of syntax and

      word order

Weekly assignments (10%), quizzes (10%), attendance (10%), class performance (10%), mid-semester test (written 20%), final exam (oral 10% and written 30%).

Four hours of lectures per week (may include language laboratory sessions).

Intermediate Persian B (or equivalent prior knowledge, with permission of the lecturer)

Saffar-Moghaddam, Ahmad. Vol. 4, Persian Language: History, Culture and Civilization of Iran, Tehran: Council for Promotion of Persian Language and Literature, 2007